I'd never turn down England for IPL: Flintoff

Andrew Flintoff might have turned a freelancer but the talented all-rounder said his passion to play for England is still intact and he would never choose to play cash-rich twenty20 events like IPL over England.

"I would never turn down England ... I have shown more than enough passion over the years, and that's not something you lose because I don't have a contract," Flintoff said in an interview with the January issue of The Wisden Cricketer magazine.

"If I didn't think I was going to play for England again, I would not have had this latest operation, no way. It is all about playing for England," he added.

"My intentions are to play every one-day and Twenty20 game for England. It is never going to be a case of picking and choosing."

"I want to play for England and Lancashire, I've got my contract with Chennai and now I have the opportunity to play around the world as well."

"I'm really keen to play in Australia, which has always been an ambition of mine. When I'm fit again I would love to play in their Big Bash Twenty20 competition," he added.

Flintoff hoped this break would help him to rejuvenate so that he can play his best ever cricket.

"I'm not sure I have even played my best yet, especially in one-day cricket, so now I am having this break I think I have got the chance to get better as a player. I am not going to just get by. I genuinely think I can now play my best ever cricket," Flintoff said.

Flintoff turned freelancer after the Ashes series but he dispelled fears that others would also follow him.

"I don't think other players will follow what I've done," he said.

"There is a real misconception at the moment, people go on about the riches involved in Twenty20 cricket, but you earn your reputation playing Test cricket and everyone wants to play that, and then maybe later on in your career some players will have a choice, especially bowlers, who can't play everything forever," he added.